With low expectations, 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' is amusing
Some of the movie gets oppressive, but Javier Bardem is scary-funny as the phantasmal pirate-hunter Captain Salazar and a stormy sea-parting finale is impressive.
'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales' stars Johnny Depp (l.) and Kaya Scodelario (r.).
Peter Mountain/Disney/AP
Maybe it鈥檚 because my expectations for it were so abysmally low, but I sort of enjoyed parts of 鈥淧irates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales.鈥� I say this as someone who tolerated the first installment and groaned through the subsequent three episodes.
There鈥檚 still way too much unfunny yo-ho-ho-ing going on here, and the barnacled grodiness of it all gets oppressive, but Javier Bardem is scary-funny as the phantasmal pirate-hunter Captain Salazar and Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow still has a few amusing twirls in his arsenal. (When, oh when, will he take on a role that challenges him?)
Directors Joachim R酶nning聽and Espen Sandberg work up a stormy sea-parting finale that is better than anything in 鈥淭he Ten Commandments.鈥� Again, the trick to enjoying this film is to expect nothing. Grade:聽B- (Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence and some suggestive content.)聽